


Bato's Instincts

by Thisisentertaining



Series: Always trust Sokka's instincts [6]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bato of the Water Tribe, Daddy Issues, Discussions of dead parent, Gen, Ozai's A+ Parenting, Pouting Aang, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, discussions of child abuse, ice dodging
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 07:53:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30052269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisisentertaining/pseuds/Thisisentertaining
Summary: Katara still hates him.Sokka is following some Water-Tribe-Father-Figure around with stars in his eyes.Aang is pouting because his friends are paying more attention to the Water-Tribe-Father-Figure than him.Oh, and there is a Water-Tribe-Father-Figure now. And Zuko has a wonderful track record with Fathers.Overall, this is a /great/ time to be Zuko.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Always trust Sokka's instincts [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883224
Comments: 53
Kudos: 245





	Bato's Instincts

**Author's Note:**

> GUYS! Super cool things are happening!! 
> 
> First, the AMAZING CountessRose is making a podfic of this story!!!!!!! Please see the first few chapters here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29772195/chapters/73238886  
> The stories are set over the creation of INCREDIBLE fanart for each chapter and I really recommend checking it out!! 
> 
> ALSO!!! I got more Fan Art!!! Please see Chapter 6 of Cold Hard Instincts for an image from that episode that is SO COOL!! Thank you Naiya Dyani!!
> 
> Also, UNFORTUNATE things are happening. 
> 
> So, my lease is up in the end of April and for various reasons I am leaving my current lease even though I hadn't really expected to. So, I have to find a place, apply, and do all of that paperwork, pack, and move within the next like, month and a half. So, I probably will not make any updates until early May. I apologize for the long wait, but please know this story is still going strong!

Zuko had forgotten how hard it was to read a mood. It had been easy in the cave. There had only been two, maybe three moods that anyone who came through that door would have. Ready to fight, or ready to rant to someone who literally could not get away.

He preferred the former mood to the later.

Of course, mood number three was ‘concerned for whoever he just beat up’ but that rarely affected Zuko unless it was Meddi-man. Well, and sometimes it led to mood number one rearing its head again.

Regardless, in the cave he knew what had been expected of him, and his responses were almost formulaic. Someone enters with weapons? Fight. Someone comes and starts babbling about whatever? Turn around and sigh every five second to show he Did Not Care. Jet is nearby? Try to punch.

It had been simple, almost unthinkingly easy. Things were much more complicated out in the real world. He couldn’t just fight anyone who was in a bad mood. He kinda… forgot what you were supposed to do. Assuming he ever had known. In the palace people wore masks. They did not let their emotions be known unless in closed doors. He knew by now that his mother must have been constantly downtrodden and upset, but she never showed it to him. When Father or Azula were in a bad mood, he could only try and make himself scare or cower.

None of that was applicable here.

Sokka at least didn’t seem upset at him. The boy was constantly grumbling as they walked, complaining about the volcano and how the people of the village were still convinced that Madame Wu’s predictions were correct, despite how their bind trust had nearly destroyed the town. So, he was mad, but not _at_ Zuko, which was nice.

Katara was still frosty towards him, but she had never really thawed at all so that wasn’t new. Even if it was frustrating. She seemed half convinced that Zuko should have been able to do more to detect or stop the volcano. Although, he was pretty sure that was more of an excuse to continue hating him for being Fire Nation than anything else. Which… sucked, because it wasn’t something he could change (wasn’t something he even wanted to change) but he understood. He was coming to accept that while Jet’s actions had been extreme, his convictions and his hate had been the norm.

From what he’d seen of this side of the Fire Nation, he understood it.

He hated that he understood it.

Anyway, so her anger _was_ focused on Zuko, but it was something he was growing used to and was excited to leave behind once they found Uncle or one of his secret friends from the list.

Aang wasn’t in a bad mood, but Zuko was honestly starting to doubt that the monk could _get_ upset about anything other than like, righteous indignation about some kind of injustice. Or something. Anything less than that and the boy would be happily off playing with his lemur.

Momo and Appa also didn’t seem upset, though Aang was trying to keep from flying too much as the sudden heat of the volcano had apparently not been pleasant for the big-furred creature. So really, it was just the Water Tribe siblings, but still. It was enough to make him feel awkward and prevent him from breaking the silence of their hike.

“Hey look!” Aang said from his spot in the front of their line. “A sword made out of a Whale’s tooth!” Zuko peeked around the others to see Aang holding up a strange, almost familiar blade. He wouldn’t call it a sword but it seemed to be well made. It wasn’t any style Zuko had ever seen before, but it kinda reminded him of…

Sokka pushed past his sister, nearly stumbling down the hill in his haste. “Let me see that!” He demanded, gasping when the instrument was in his hands. “This is a Water Tribe weapon!”

Zuko blinked. Water Tribe? Were they that far North already? He hadn’t thought so, but he hadn’t actually looked at a map since the stronghold, and with all of their detours, it was hard to tell how fast Appa could go.

Huh.

It wasn’t as cold as he’d thought it would be.

“See if you can find anything else.” Sokka demanded. The teen was practically vibrating with excitement as he looked around the clearing. Zuko wasn’t sure what he was looking for short of just another pile of weapons.

Which he found. Or, one weapon at least. He called Sokka over when he spotted a broken arrow-head amid some leaf litter. It was a Fine Nation flaming arrow though, so he wasn’t sure it was what the other was looking for.

“It’s burned.” Sokka said as he wiped soot off of the tip.

Zuko nodded. “It’s part of Fire Nation tactics to wrap arrowheads in something flammable.”

Sokka nodded, his face scrunched in that way that meant his thoughts were going a million miles a minute. He moved to a nearby tree, touching a spot on the trunk that was marred with both gashes and soot. “There was a battle.” He claimed. “Water Tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders.”

The boy followed a trail that was all but invisible to Zuko, running down the hill and sprouting off details of a battle he had never seen. The Firebender would have thought he was making it up, if not for the purpose in his movement, the certainty in his words, and the way he inerrantly lead them to clue after clue.

They ran through the woods, ending only when the trees were left behind in favor of a sandy beach and he was forced to admit that whatever trail he had been following had ended.

Zuko was still impressed. Sokka had mentioned being a master hunter, but their dinners certainly hadn’t supported that claim. Now though… now he believed it.

Suddenly, Katara gaped. “Wait, look!” She cried, pointing at a small wooden boat half-way up the shore.

“It’s one of our boats!” Sokka cried, pure joy shining in his eyes.

The siblings ran across the sandy beach. “Is this Dad’s boat?” Katara asked. Sokka grinned back at her.

“No, but its from his fleet.”

Oh. So, not that far North. This was their Father. The one Sokka had mentioned leaving back in that horrible divide. That made sense.

…Did that mean it was going to get colder?

* * *

For once, Katara _wasn’t_ glaring at him as he poked at the firewood and spark rocks and brought the cooking. Instead, they sat in a circle around the fire, the siblings idly theorizing about the ship until Katara succumbed to sleep.

Neither Sokka nor Zuko fell asleep as easily. Instead, Sokka pushed around the coals with a stick, mouth screwed up as he was lost in thought. Zuko was… he was having a bad night. The kind of night where he hated even the darkness of his own eyelids. The kind of night where every wind made him shudder with cold and he resigned himself to spending the night counting the stars just to remind himself that he could see them.

“I tried to go with him.” Sokka said softly. He didn’t have to explain. There was only one ‘him’ that he could be talking about. “I was younger than Aang when they left, but I was so sure that I was a good enough warrior that I could come along. I felt like I had to, to be a man.”

“What happened?” Zuko asked softly.

“He didn’t let me.” Sokka said. “He said that being a man is knowing where you are needed most, and told me that was staying with Katara.” He shrugged. “I still don’t really know if he meant that or if he was just trying to keep me safe and out of the war.”

Zuko was silent for a moment, completely unable to relate to the concept of a father who wouldn’t use every conceivable opportunity to test their children’s ability to rise to the challenge. Father would have never even considered leaving either he or Azula behind, regardless of their ages. He would have been the first to commission them child sized armors if the need ever arose.

“I miss him _so much_.”

Zuko couldn’t relate to that either.

“I just wanted to make him proud.”

Ah. Now that, that he could relate to.

“Your father would be a fool not to be proud of you, Sokka.”

“You think so?”

Zuko sent the boy an irritated scowl. “Don’t hunt for compliments. It’s annoying. You are traveling with the _Avatar_ , the only person who actually stands a chance about making a difference for good. You helped save a town from a volcano. Your boomerang can go through a canyon like its sentient. You didn’t fall for Jet’s schtick. You saved me. You’re brave, strong, intelligent, and kind. If your father isn’t proud of that, he doesn’t deserve your devotion.”

Sokka smiled for the first time since seeing the ship, his shoulders relaxing. “Thanks. Yours should be too, if that means anything.”

Zuko snorted meanly, turning away from the boy and pulling his blanket close.

“I’m serious!” The other teen insisted. “You went through actual torture for years, and you’re still like super strong and not crazy and still care about helping people. Even people from the same nation as those that hurt you. That’s impressive Zuko.”

Zuko was silent for a long moment. “My father wouldn’t care about any of that. He would be ashamed that I was captured in the first place. Anything you would call kindness, he would call weakness, especially if it was towards the Earth Kingdom. Without my bending, he would consider me absolutely useless, if he even bothered to acknowledge that I was his son.”

He didn’t look to the other boy, instead kept his gaze straight ahead, still tracking the stars. “I spent most of my life trying to make him proud, but Father always preferred my sister. She was a prodigy, well beyond me in bending, schooling, and diplomacy despite being two years younger than me. She was the golden child, and I was nothing. He used to say that she was born lucky, and I was lucky to be born. For a long time, I wanted nothing more than to make him proud, so I did everything I could. There is a lot of it that… that I’m not proud of, never mind that I was younger than Aang when I did it. The truth is… I don’t care if he’s proud of me anymore. In fact, if I heard that he was, it would be my warning that… that I was on the wrong path.”

“That’s… why does your backstory just keep getting _sadder_?” Sokka asked, and Zuko idly wondered if it was more sad or less sad that his Father and the Fire Lord were the same. “Uh, then I bet Uncle Tea would be proud of you?”

Zuko smiled softly. “Thanks. I hope so.”

Sokka opened his mouth as though prepared to do something horrific like _ask_ about it, when a strange noise brought them both on red alert. Sokka grabbed his boomerang, and Zuko silently pulled his scabbard out from under the pillow.

“Who’s there?” Sokka demanded.

A man emerged from the shadows. Not one that Zuko recognized, but one whose facial features were as obviously Water Tribe as his injuries were Fire Nation. Half of his torso was covered in bandages, and the sickly strange scent of burn medicine permeated the air as he neared.

“Sokka?” The stranger asked, and Zuko was hit with the startling realization that this was the Father Sokka missed so dearly. And this was fine. Zuko was _great_ with Fathers. Really, he had a fantastic track record with them.

Sokka gasped. “Bato?” He asked, a sliver of pure joy dancing in his voice. Oh. Not a father. Zuko had a hard time trying to convince himself not to be relieved.

Katara and Aang woke at the yell, and the girl was quick to follow Sokka as the elder teen ran to give the stranger a hug. The man was grinning broadly. “Sokka! Katara! It’s so good to see you two. You’ve grown so much.”

Aang called out a greeting, but Zuko didn’t. He doubted he would be getting a warm welcome from anyone with a burn that large. Luckily, no one seemed to notice as Sokka and Katara started to pepper the man with questions about their father. Soon enough, the chill got to their group, and Bato started leading them to an abbey, telling the Water Tribe teens stories of their father as they walked.

They made their way into a large abbey, the area filled with nuns and permeated by a million different strong scents. “Superior!” Bato called, smiling warmly when one of the elder monks broke off to come towards him. “These are Hakoda’s children. They’ve been traveling with the Avatar and their friend…” He faltered, turning to Zuko. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

His eyes suddenly turned sharper as the well-lit courtyard revealed the gold eyes, pale skin, and dark hair that the dark forest had concealed.

Katara growled. “He’s _not_ our friend.”

Sokka scowled at his sister. “He’s _my_ friend.”

“And mine!” Aang added, but no one seemed to give him much mind.

“I’m, uh, I’m Zuko.”

“He’s _Fire Nation_.” The girl spat, and at the confirmation, Bato took a step back, pulling the Water Tribe teens behind him as he put his hands on his knife and angled his body to that the bandages were as far as possible from the Firebender.

Zuko hunched in on himself. Yup. That father-figure track record was going great. Aang immediately stepped forward. “It’s okay, I tr-“

“Zuko is a really good guy!” Sokka interrupted, looking imploringly at the still-protective Bato. “He’s my friend. We’ve been traveling with him for a long time and he’s been nothing but helpful!”

“He is _still_ Fire Nation Sokka, you can’t just-“

“What he is, is injured.” The Superior interjected. “Our convent is sworn to provide aid to all who come in peace. Do you come in peace, young man?”

“I uh, I do ma’am. But I’m fine.” His words were harsher than they should be. Biting. Fueled by the awkwardness, defensiveness, and fear that being near this Bato guy was stirring in him. 

The woman frowned and stepped forward, slowly and carefully pulling up his arm where the wounds from pulling at the manacles still existed as scabs. Dropping that, she rose one clinical hand to prod around the bruise on his forehead that he’d gotten from the arrow at the stronghold. Oh. He’d forgotten about that. No one in the fortuneteller’s town had mentioned it beyond that _look_ the blacksmith had given him. He had occasional headaches, but those were nothing new, he’d been getting them a lot even before his daring Avatar rescue.

There was a lot of light outside of the cave.

And a lot of sound.

And smell.

And just about every type of stimulant that should be normal, but were overwhelming to him.

“Oh.” He said softly.

She smiled at him in a kindly, old lady way. “Come with me and I can take you to our healer. You can meet up with your friends once she has looked you over.”

Zuko glanced out of the corner of his eye. Katara was still glaring at him, as was Bato. The stranger hadn’t moved an inch out of his protective position, still hiding his wounded side. Sokka was glaring at his sister and Aang seemed to be pouting that no one was looking at him.

“Okay.” He allowed, and followed the woman into the halls. His track record with healers was a bit better, at least.

* * *

It was a decent amount of time before Zuko was allowed to leave the healer’s room. A new salve had been applied to his wrist wounds. They were mostly scabbed now, but the healer was insistent that the medicine would keep it from being infected and would somewhat reduce the scarring. Zuko thought they didn’t need to bother with that last bit. His entire wrist was nothing but roping rough scars from years of pulling at it.

She had also declared that he didn’t have a concussion, which was not something he had even considered, though he supposed it was a relief to know he didn’t need to worry about it. His responses to her questions about light sensitivity had concerned her at first, until he explained that they had started before his injury. She still wasn’t happy about it, but without any of the other symptoms, she wasn’t overly concerned.

Now however, he was leaving their office with directions on how to get to the Water Tribe man’s room and he had no clue if he should follow them or not. The man hadn’t exactly seemed like he was eager to see him, and Zuko doubted that had changed much.

He couldn’t blame him. Not if those bandages were covering a wound as bad as it looked. His eye had hurt enough, but half of his body… it would be agony. He wouldn’t be happy to see another Fire Nation man, even if Zuko wasn’t really a bender right now.

He paused as he neared the door to the room, still wrestling with himself about whether or not he should enter. As he hesitated, he accidentally eavesdropped.

Okay, so he purposely eavesdropped. If they were talking about him he wanted a hint about what he should do.

Bato’s voice drifted from the room. “-happened to your necklace? The day you got it, I would have sworn on all I owned that it would never leave your neck.”

“The same thing that happened to Mother. The Fire Nation stole it from me.”

Zuko stopped, his heart going cold as the pure, stone cold fury in the girl’s voice. He knew she had the potential for anger and hate, but he had never heard her like that. It was cold, full of hatred and anguish.

“Oh Katara…” The man said softly, the sound of rustling as though he had drawn her into a hug. “I’m sorry.”

“I- I don’t-“ She sounded close to tears now, and Zuko knew that he should leave, that this was a deeply personal conversation and _not for him_. He couldn’t bring himself to move. As though her sadness was a tuning fork with a pitch that matched his own, drawing him to it and trapping his feet. “They took everything from me when they killed her. I-I didn’t have anything left of her but that necklace. A-and now I don’t even have that.”

“You never should have seen that.” The stranger said softly as Sokka started making soft, wordless soothing noises. “Should never have gone through it in the first place. I’m sorry that your necklace is gone, but you know that it’s not true that it was the last thing you had of hers, right?”

“What do you mean?” She asked hesitantly.

“You have her courage.” The man said. “And that is no small gift. And you have her love. Her protectiveness. Her temper.” He chuckled. “You had it when you were younger too, but now… I can barely look at you without seeing Kya’s face.”

Zuko softly stepped back, feeling strangely… settled. He had never understood Katara, not really. He acknowledged her hatred, but never saw why it was so strong. So personal. Now he knew, and he felt he understood her. He could no longer begrudge her hatred, if it would have done him any good, he would have hated as well.

He wasn’t sure what he could say though. He doubted it would be a good idea to pop up and say ‘Hi, Zuko here. You say the Fire Nation took your mother from you? That’s something we have in common.’ Still, there was a peace in knowing her anger had reason, that it was a hate he would have felt just as strongly in her shoes.

He… he wished he had someone like Bato when Mother had left though. Anyone who would try and comfort him. Anyone who didn’t make him feel like he was crazy for even wanted to acknowledge that she had existed. There had been no funeral. She was just… gone. No one else would even talk about it.

It didn’t matter now. It had been years, he shouldn’t let it get to him (it did though. If she was still there (alive) would Father have gotten away with banishing him? Would any of this even have happened?) he should be over it.

The teen shook himself heavily. Well. He wasn’t going to bother trying to sleep in that hut. Maybe he could get the fire by the boat going again, he was used to sleeping outside.

He didn’t want to be in a room tonight anyway. He wanted to count the stars until he could feel the sun.

* * *

The bar was loud and rowdy, a familiar crowd yelling and cheering as they watched a massive man arm wrestling with a thin, dangerous-looking woman. The bout was interrupted when a bag of coins the size of a man’s heads landed on the center of the table and both parties let go as the weight of the bag shook the table.

The crowd silenced as they all took in the sight of a large firebender in mutton chops and rigid armor heading up a small group of Fire Nation soldiers. The woman eyed the bag.

“You drop something?” She asked.

“Maybe. Could be mine, could be yours.”

“Hmm. And how do you suppose we determine this custody battle?”

The man slammed a necklace with a light blue pendant onto the table. “This bag belongs to a woman with a shirishu. Or at least… it will.”

The woman’s single visible eyebrow rose and she peeked inside the bag, smirking when she saw the denomination of the coins. “Well, looks like it might be mine after all. Let’s talk.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Me: I can't think of how the Bato episode will add to my story. What can being around a father figure really contribute to Zuko's arc and-
> 
> .....ooohhhh boy. 
> 
> Also, in case you are like me and read the end notes for story updates more than beginning notes, just so you know:  
> My lease is up in the end of April and for various reasons I am leaving my current lease even though I hadn't really expected to. So, I have to find a place, apply, and do all of that paperwork, pack, and move within the next like, month and a half. So, I probably will not make any updates until early May. I apologize for the long wait, but please know this story is still going strong!


End file.
